The Cut and the Bandaid
by dna2000
Summary: AU Rogan. Rory and Logan work together at a newspaper, when Rory gets an offer from another paper. How will it affect their relationship? there's more to it than that, it's kinda difficult to summarise, so just read :D
1. The Letter

The Cut and the Band-aid.

A/N:

Background info: Rory and Logan have been together for about 5 or 6 months and work together at a paper in New York called the Adelphi gazette, which Logan is editor of.

I don't live in New York, nor have I ever been there. I'm a Londoner :D so I apologise if I ever say something about New York that makes no sense or is factually incorrect. Nor do I know anything about journalism :D

Also, the title probably won't make any sense now, but it will later. I'll shut up now.

'Justin Timberlake?'

'You'

'Hayden Christensen?'

'Hmm…that's a tough one, but I'd still say you'

'Elvis?'

'Elvis in which decade?'

'The 1950s'

'Oh, then I'd say Elvis wins'

'What?! You'd choose a soon-to-be drug addict and alcoholic who thrusts his groin around over me?'

'Well I'm sorry Logan, but Elvis the Pelvis was a rather attractive man when he was in his prime. Besides, it was your idea to play this stupid game just so you could hear about how gorgeous you to appease your ego.'

'Hey! I resent that remark.'

And so the couple continued to bicker. They were spending the day together in Rory's apartment- well, the apartment she shared with her best friends, Lo and Shaun- after a long, stressful week at work. Rory, Logan and the rest of the staff at the Adelphi Gazette had learned that the small newspaper was to encounter a sharp drop in funding, given the fall in circulation levels over the past month. The pressure was on to recapture the spirit of the paper, add to that Editor Logan's sudden bout of flu, throw in the assistant-editor's raving PMS, and you've got yourself a newsroom stress-level to rival that of the Yale Daily News on D-Day. But, by Friday, Logan's health had recovered, budgetary concerns were resolved and Francesca had finished menstruating. All seemed well with the world.

The sound of letters coming through the door interrupted their little quarrel. Rory untangled herself from Logan's arms, fought her way out of the dent she'd made in the couch by sitting in the same position for hours, and went to collect the mail.

'Anything interesting? Any love letters from Elvis?' Logan asked bitterly.

'Yeah, I frequently get letters from The King from beyond the grave.' Rory replied sarcastically. 'Are you gonna stop sulking about the fact that I find _someone_ in the history of the world more attractive than you?' Logan merely crossed his arms sharply and turned his head to the side, looking away from her.

'Fine,' Rory continued, 'but I think you should also know that I am a rather ardent admirer of the Duke of Wellington. That uniform, the battle of Waterloo, mmm, it just turns me on.' Logan turned his head back to his girlfriend with a look of horror on his face.

'You're kidding, right? Please tell me that's a joke.' Rory only burst into laughter, to which Logan let out a sigh of relief. 'You think you're so funny, don't you? Freaking me out like that? Rory? What's up?' he asked, as Rory stared at one of the letters in her hands. Ignoring his questions, she quickly tore the envelope open and flicked her eyes, left to right, over the enclosed piece of paper. Her eyes steadily began bulging out of her head as she read each line.

'Rory? What's wrong, sweetie?' Logan asked calmly, slightly worried about what was written on that paper. Eventually, Rory stopped reading and looked up at him, confusion written all over her face.

'I got the job' she said weakly.

'Huh? What job, Ace?' Logan asked.

'Head of the Foreign Affairs section at the Manhattan Times'

'You applied for a job at the Manhattan Times?!' Logan couldn't remember the last time he said something that _wasn't_ a question.

'Yep.' Rory answered, looking at the letter again, making sure it was actually addressed to her. 'And they've accepted.'

'When did you apply? And why didn't you tell me??' Logan was getting increasingly exasperated, so Rory sat down next to him and cupped his cheek with her hand, gently stroking his face. It always calmed him down.

'I didn't apply because I want to leave the Adelphi. I love working there.' She reassured him, 'but Dirk let me know of an opening at the Manhattan, and he asked if I wanted to apply. He said he thought I stood a good chance of getting it' she continued. Dirk owned the Adelphi, and dropped in every now and then to check the paper's progress. He was pretty much a middle-aged version of Logan, and had grown very fond of the young couple, particularly Rory. 'I told him I wasn't looking to change jobs just yet. But I thought the post looked interesting, I mean I love foreign affairs, so I just applied to see what the application process was like, you know, just to get some experience for when I do actually want to change jobs. I seriously didn't think they'd employ me. I didn't tell you, or anyone for that matter, except for Dirk, because I didn't want you to think I wasn't happy working for you.'

'But you didn't even go for an interview! Did they really make you head of a section just by looking at your CV?' Logan asked incredulously. He knew how accomplished his Ace was, and her CV was an extremely impressive read, but no newspaper he knew of, especially not the Manhattan Times, would employ people without an interview.

'I did have an interview.' Rory corrected him. 'Two Fridays ago. That day you wanted to have a picnic in Central Park.'

Realisation dawned on Logan's face. 'I _knew_ you didn't go fishing with Finn!' he exclaimed.

'Well _duh_! I had to think of some excuse so I wouldn't have to tell you what I was really doing.'

'And the best you could do was 'fishing with Finn'?' Logan asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

'Well I always thought it'd be funny if Finn went fishing. Because fishes have fins.' Rory grinned to herself, 'and also because he'd be incredibly drunk, and it's always funny to watch him try something new.' Logan just stared at his girlfriend like she was crazy.

'So anyway,' Rory said, shaking her head clear of images of Finn trying to attach bait to his fishing line, 'I have to fill in this form and tell them I'm not accepting the job.'

'What?' Logan's head shot up.

'Congratulations. You've won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for 'the most questions asked in the space of 10 minutes.'' Rory replied drolly. Logan just gave her an annoyed look.

'It's not my fault you're not explaining yourself properly. Why aren't you accepting the place? It's a great job!'

'I'm not giving up my job, I love it there!'

'But-'

'But nothing, Logan.' Rory said sternly, 'I'm not leaving the Adelphi, and that's that. I'll send off the reply slip tomorrow.' With that, she walked off into the kitchen. Logan sighed.

He had to make her take that job.


	2. The Plan

Chapter 2: The Plan

A/N: please review!! Even if it's just a couple of words :D

'I'll get it!' Lo shouted as she ran up to answer the knock on the door.

'Hey, Lo. Merry Fake Christmas!' Logan entered the cosy, warm apartment, with Colin and Finn in tow. Rory and Lorelai had planned a Christmas trip to London many months ago, so Rory decided to host an early Christmas party for her small group of intimates before she left.

''Merry Fake Christmas' to you too' Lo laughed. 'Don't call it that in front of Rory, though. She's taking this whole thing really seriously.'

'So I see,' said Colin, glancing around the apartment with a bemused look on his face. He'd never seen anything so heavily decorated in all his life.

'Argh! The bright colours! The glare!' Finn covered his eyes with the back of his forearm and clutched Colin's shoulder as he dramatically swayed about. Colin just rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the toy reindeer playing 'Jingle Bells' on the saxophone.

'Hey Ace!' Logan said when he saw his girlfriend bounding up to him with a huge smile on her face. He lowered his head slightly to give her kiss, but pulled back when he noticed she was trying to draw his attention to something else.

'Do you like my sweater?' she asked gleefully. Logan looked down as she thrust her chest out at him to enable him to see it more clearly. Not that this was necessary. The sweater could probably be seen from quite a distance. Logan continued to stare at the green fabric with the large, colourful snowflakes and sequins scattered around it, at a loss for words. Colin and Finn's faces immediately contorted into looks of disgust.

'Oh…where did you get it?' Logan asked, hoping she wouldn't notice that he hadn't actually answered her question.

'Just at this random little store. I got it on sale, too! It was only $30! Can you believe that?'

'Wow. What a…er…bargain.' Logan turned to look at his friends.

'Oh yes.' Colin tried to continue with a straight face. 'Value for money indeed.' Finn just nodded along.

'So, where's Shaun?' Logan said, trying to change the subject to avoid lying to his girlfriend.

'Oh, he's just getting ready. Let me get you guys something to drink.' Rory walked off into the kitchen. Logan watched her and quietly snuck into her bedroom. Finn turned to Lo,

'She hasn't got us all matching sweaters, has she?' Finn asked with a distinct tone of panic in his voice. Lo shook her head and laughed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'What are you watching, Finn?' Logan asked after lunch as he finished off his glass of wine.

'My favourite annual nativity play' Finn answered quickly, his eyes glued to the television screen as if he were watching a high-speed car chase.

'Awww. Those little lambs are just so fluffy.' Shaun said from his seat next to Finn.

'Are you _sure_ he's not gay?' Logan whispered to Rory. Rory rolled her eyes at him. Shaun's sexual orientation was commonly misunderstood because of his sensitivity and fondness for all things cute.

'So Rory,' Colin started as he sat down with his glass of sherry, 'I hear you got offered a job at the Manhattan. Congratulations, I know tonnes of guys who failed to get a place there.' Rory shot a glare at Logan, who suddenly started staring intensely at his fingernails.

'Thanks. It is really cool to have gotten the place, but I'm not ready to work somewhere like that yet.'

'Well if they hired you then they obviously think you're ready.' Shaun pointed out. Logan looked up at Shaun and beamed, but his gaze quickly fell back to his fingernails when he noticed Rory was still glaring at him.

'It _is_ a great opportunity, Rory. We all think you should take it, right Finn?' Colin looked at his friend.

'Shhh!' came the Australian's response.

'Oh come on, Finn!' Logan said. 'It's not like you don't know how it ends!'

'I'm just really happy where I am right now. Besides,' Rory continued, 'I've already filled in the form saying I'm declining their offer. In fact,' she said as she made her way towards her bedroom, 'I'm going to send it off right now so it'll shut all of you up.' A minute later, the group heard the sounds of frantic rummaging and rustling emerging from her room.

'Where is it?' a frustrated looking Rory said as she swung the door open. 'I could've sworn I left it on my desk, but I can't find it anywhere! Grr, I **hate** losing things!'

'Was it a kind of green-y coloured form, love?' Finn asked, his eyes still fixed on the TV screen.

'Yeah, have you seen it?' Rory asked.

'Logan has it.' It was Logan's turn to glare now.

'Why would you have it?' Rory asked her boyfriend.

'I saw him take it out of your room when you were getting us drinks, it's still in his back-pocket' Finn explained. Rory's eyes grew wide.

'You stole my letter from my room?!' she shouted. She took Logan's silence as an affirmative. 'Logan. My room. Now.' She said as she stormed back into her room.

'Wooo! Somebody's gonna get some action!' Finn wolf-whistled.

'I can't believe you told her, Finn!' Logan said angrily.

'Aw, look at them. They all look so happy, don't they?' Finn said with a tear in his eye. Apparently, baby Jesus had just been born.

'I swear to God, Finn, I'm gonna set some rabid koalas on you to gnaw on your balls.' Finn was too busy trying to imitate the moves of Rory's Dancing Santa to notice Logan's threats.

'Why would you do that?! Were you planning on changing the form and sending it off without telling me? And then on Monday when I try and get in the car with you to go to work, were you gonna say 'No actually, you better get on the bus because you'll be going all the way to Manhattan today to start your new job'?!?' Rory shouted as she paced around in front of a guilty-looking Logan. 'Why are you so adamant that I take this job? Why is _everyone_ so adamant that I take this job!?'

'Looks like you're the one who's asking all the questions now' Logan said in a feeble attempt to alleviate the tension. It failed.

'Look, Ace. We just don't understand why you won't accept the offer. It's such a great achievement! How many 25 year old women can say that they've got such a high position in a leading newspaper? It'll open up so many more doors for you, too. You'd be the head of Foreign Affairs- that's a _huge_ step towards being a foreign correspondent.' Throughout Logan's reasoning, Rory's face softened. She walked up to him and placed her hands on his chest.

'I know you, and everyone else, only want what's best for me.' She smiled at him. 'But, I know what I want to do, and I want to stay at the Adelphi. I _know_ the Manhattan is a great paper and I _know_ I'm really lucky to have gotten the place, but I don't think I'm ready to move into a scary, corporate environment like that yet. The Adelphi is such a good paper, and even though it's small, it's making a lot of progress. The staff are all great, it's got such an amazing atmosphere where everyone works together and produces wonderful journalism. That kind of working environment is so rare. I don't wanna leave that. But most of all, I don't wanna leave _you_. I get to see you for hours everyday with the way things are; if I left and worked in Manhattan, I'd hardly get to see you. I'd have to wake up early and I'd come back home pretty late because of the commute, and there'd just be so much more work for me to do- I'd hardly get to spend time with you or Lo or Shaun or visit my mom, or do anything else. I'm still young; I want to enjoy my life at the moment.' Logan lowered his head and gave his girlfriend a passionate kiss. He was so touched, and surprised, to learn of the significance he held in her life. He pulled back slightly and whispered onto her lips.

'I'm sorry I stole your form.' Rory smiled and kissed him gently, as an acceptance of his apology.

'Why have they been in there so long?' they heard Shaun ask from the living room.

'They're getting jiggy with it, mate!' Finn replied, obviously totally wasted. 'na na na na na-na na na, na na na na na-na, getting' jiggy wit' it!' Finn started singing, causing Rory and Logan to break out into giggles.

'We better go back,' Rory laughed, 'Colin's probably about ready to throttle him right now.' Logan followed her out of the room.

'That makes sense' Colin nodded, after Logan finished telling him Rory's explanation, when the boys were driving back home.

'Yeah, I guess. But it just seems like she doesn't think she'd be able to handle the job _and_ a social life. That's pretty much her main reason for not accepting.' Logan said as he turned the car into the road where the boys' apartments were. 'I get that she doesn't want to see me less, we'll both find it weird not working together anymore, but it's not like we're gonna completely lose touch. She'll probably have about the same amount of free time as she does now anyway, she works so quickly. This position at the Manhattan could advance her career so much; she's not really going anywhere with the Adelphi job, it's too small of a paper for her to shine. I just know that if she accepts this post, she'll find it so much more fulfilling.' Logan finished as the car pulled to a halt.

'Well what are you gonna do, mate?' a partially sobered-up Finn asked. 'You can't force her to take this job; she's already decided that she'd prefer to spend her time with you than with a bunch of stony-faced businessmen. She loves working with you. Which I think is pretty darn sweet, if you ask me.'

'Yeah, it is nice' Logan sighed, 'but I don't want her to make the wrong decision just because of me.' Colin turned his head and eyed his blonde friend. He could almost see the plans formulating beneath his golden locks.

'Don't do anything stupid, man.' Colin warned as he and Finn opened the car doors to leave.

'Yeah, I know.' Logan sighed again as he opened his door. But his new plan was already set in his mind.

God, he was going straight to hell for this.


	3. The Cut

The Cut

A/N. Please review:D

'Hey, baby' Rory called sweetly to Logan as he approached her desk early on Monday morning.

'Hey back, gorgeous' he returned, kissing her puckered lips.

'Thanks again for lunch yesterday. Colin and Finn had a good time, too. The latter in particular. I hope he didn't suck _all_ the alcohol out of your place.' Logan smiled at her as he squatted next to her.

'Aww, it's no problem, I enjoyed having you guys over. Did you take time out of your busy day just to tell me that, Mr. Editor?' Rory said, running her fingers through her boyfriend's soft hair.

'No actually, not just that,' Logan said, pulling up a swivel chair to sit next to her.

'Oh really?' Rory asked in a low voice as she grabbed him by the lapels of his blazer and pulled him closer. _She clearly has the wrong idea_, Logan thought to himself. He let her kiss him for a few moments- not that he didn't enjoy it himself, of course- but pulled back just as he felt her tongue lick the underside of his top lip.

'What's wrong?' Rory asked. 'Nobody can see us, that's why the partition comes in handy.' She nodded her head in the direction of the sheet of plastic on wheels that created her 'office space'.

'Actually, er, _that's_ not what I came here for either.' He gave her an apologetic look.

'Oh…' Rory said quietly, her face slightly rouged.

'Not that I don't like it,' Logan added hastily, he didn't want her to think he didn't enjoy her kisses. In fact, there were only a few things he enjoyed more- and even those things involved his and Rory's bodies meeting in certain places…'It's just that I have a big, important assignment for you.' Logan continued, 'it's pretty urgent stuff, actually.'

'Really? I thought you promised things would really cool down this week, after the mayhem that was last week?'

_Crap, I forgot I said that._

'Er…yeah…you're right...Ace' Logan stalled, 'but I didn't mean we could totally relax. I mean, we've still gotta keep the readers interested, right?' he laughed nervously. Where had his charm gone? It always oozed out of him involuntarily whenever crusty old ladies in search of a boy-toy, or slutty young girls were around, but in instances like this, when he most needed it, it was nowhere to be found and he was a regular Napoleon Dynamite.

'Yeah, I guess' Rory answered with a slight frown on her face, looking curiously at Logan.

_Is she onto me? Does she know what the plan is? No- she can't possibly know- calm down, Huntzberger, easy now, boy. _

_Did I just call myself 'boy'?_

'Are you all right?' Rory's concerned tones managed to permeate the jumble in his brain. 'Is your flu coming back? I told you not to drink yesterday. Maybe you should rest.' She said as she stroked his cheek and wiped away some of the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead.

_Oh, it's all right. She just thinks I'm ill. Just sneeze or something and it'll convince her. _

Logan then proceeded to fake a sneeze, but it ended up sounding like an asthmatic donkey trying to imitate a trumpet. Rory jumped back and raised her eyebrow at him.

'What was that?'

'Er…nothing, I guess I might still be a little ill.' Logan said, averting her gaze. _Why is this so hard?_ 'But anyway, back to the point of why I came here. We need something to keep up the momentum from last week, so I thought we should do a feature on the teachers' strike that's going on at the moment.' To his surprise, Rory smiled.

'You know, I was actually thinking that we hadn't paid enough attention to it last week, so last night I did a bit of research ' she said, pulling out a huge ring-binder bursting with notes.

_See, __**this**__ is why she'd do so well at the Manhattan. _Logan smiled to himself. _Although this does make things rather difficult for me. _

'Wow, that's great, Ace…but I was thinking we should make it a really big piece for this week. So, I thought you should research all past teachers' strikes in New York and compare them to this one- you know, the causes, whether the ones in the past achieved their objectives etc etc' Logan improvised, although he hoped it didn't seem improvised.

'You want me to research all the teachers' strikes in the history of New York?' Rory asked, stunned.

'Yeah,' Logan nodded. 'I mean…it…strikes affects teachers and students…and parents' he struggled through his sentence, 'so it's a pretty big deal. I mean education is a big deal.'

'Yeah it's a big deal,' Rory agreed, 'but is it really necessary to talk about _all_ past strikes in the state?!'

'You know, Rory, I thought you of all people would understand how important education is to the young minds of America' Logan began, his voice stronger.

'I-I do.' Rory stammered, slightly taken aback by this sudden change in tone.

'Good' Logan smiled and stood up, 'then I'll let you start your research. Remember to look really deep into the archives, usually the good stuff is hidden away somewhere. I'd like to have a complete draft of it on my desk by the end of the day.'

'The end of the day? You mean 'day' as in today?!' Rory asked, shocked.

'Yep, it might mean you need to stay here a little longer than usual, but you don't mind, right?' Logan asked innocently.

'Er, no. It's fine.' Rory replied, eyeing Logan strangely.

'What? Something wrong?'

'Your behaviour is really peculiar this morning.' Rory explained.

'I think I'm just tired, don't worry about it.' Logan said as Francesca walked by.

'Oh, you poor thing, Logan! Shall I get you some coffee? I know just how you like it.' Francesca offered, batting her eyelashes at him. _And so the flirtatious sucking-up begins for another week_ Logan thought to himself, smiling softly at the scowl Rory was giving the assistant-editor.

'That'd be great, Francesca, thanks.'

_It'd be even better if you laced it with some scotch._

Logan spent all his time keeping an eye on Rory to make sure she was always occupied. When he saw her rise from her seat with her bag and walk across the office, he jumped up and caught up with her.

'Where you going, Ace?' he asked as casually as he could.

'I just thought I'd take a 5 minute break and go out for a quick walk, I've been sitting at my desk for hours.' Rory sighed, stretching her legs out a little.

'Don't go for a walk' Logan said quickly. At Rory's confused look, he added, 'I want you to come here for a minute' and he held her hand and pulled her into his office. Upon closing the door, he pulled her up against his body and crashed his lips down on hers, slipping his hand underneath her shirt to caress her soft skin.

5-10 minutes later (they weren't quite sure how long they were in there), a very pleased and satisfied Rory Gilmore emerged from her boss' office, and practically skipped over to her desk. An equally pleased, and relieved, Logan Huntzberger mentally gave himself a pat on the back. _Now that's a diversion tactic I'll have to use again sometime_, he thought.

After having worked through lunch, Rory found herself wanting to take another break later on in the day. Once again, though, Logan was hot on her heels.

This time, they both emerged after 40 minutes, slightly tired and covered in a sheen of sweat from activities which, as Logan then realised, he and Rory had not partaken in often enough in the office…

As 7o'clock rolled by, Rory packed up her belongings and made her way over to Logan's office.

'There's my little journalist.' Logan smiled, patting his leg to invite her to take a seat there. She gladly accepted, flinging her arms around his neck and collapsing on top of him. 'You've finished the article?'

'Yep' Rory sighed.

'That was pretty quick.' Logan said, impressed.

'I would have finished sooner if a certain break-time activity of yours hadn't worn me out so much.' Rory smiled mischievously.

'Hey, don't act like you didn't enjoy it, missy' Logan teased, poking her in the side playfully. Rory laughed and lifted her head to give her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips.

'I have to get going, I promised Lo I'd proof-read her Versace article. She has to hand it in tomorrow.' Lo was a fashion journalist, although her knowledge of fashion far out-weighed any knowledge of journalism that she had. Therefore, it usually fell on Rory or Shaun (a budding children's author) to do all the proof-reading and sort out the structure of Lo's pieces. 'I'm just gonna read the damn article and then go straight to sleep. The apartment will be nice and quiet- Lo will be correcting her article and Shaun's out on a date with Charlie.' Logan quirked an eyebrow, 'It's a _girl_.' Rory stressed, to which Logan just smirked and shrugged lazily.

Logan pulled up outside Rory's apartment later that night. It was only 9.30- and even though Rory said she was going straight to bed, Logan knew better. Her mind was too active for her to go to sleep that early. After staring at her apartment window for a few minutes, finalising the second part of his plan in his mind, Logan took a deep breath and got out of the car. He walked in through the main doors and went straight to Rory's door. Junior staff at the Adelphi, fashion journalists at small magazines and authors of books with names like 'Humphrey Wobblester- the Boy Made Out of Jelly' weren't exactly well-paid, so the rent of a first floor apartment was all that the 3 of them could afford.

Rory sat in her room reading one of the Molière plays from the set that Logan had bought her recently, when she heard Lo answer the door, followed by Logan's voice. A smile promptly sprang up onto her face and she quickly reached for her bookmark.

'Hey, handsome. Long time no see. You miss me?' she asked sweetly as she opened her bedroom door. Logan just smiled.

'Are those your pyjamas?' he asked, looking at the fitted white tank top and silky bottoms she was wearing. 'They're a lot nicer than that potato sack with the sleeping hedgehog print that you used to wear.' Rory giggled and reached for the collar of his leather jacket.

'I figured you'd like me to wear something a little sexier to bed' she said in a low voice, pulling his head down for a kiss. Logan responded eagerly, opening his mouth to lick and taste her sweet lips. A minute or two, and several gratified moans, later, they broke apart. Logan looked down into his girlfriend's glowing face and sparkling eyes.

_God, give me strength. _

Rory noticed Logan's slightly forlorn appearance.

'What's wrong, babe?' her face took on a look of concern, and she reached up to cup the side of his face with her hand, gently stroking his cheek with her thumb.

Logan took a deep breath, leaned his head into her hand and closed his eyes briefly. He loved it when she did that. Reluctantly, he moved his head back and pushed her hands away.

'I need to talk to you.' He said gravely.

'OK…was there something wrong with that article?' Rory asked with a worried expression on her face. Logan couldn't help the corners of his mouth twitching upwards slightly. _Does she have to be so adorable?_

'It's not that…' he looked down at the floor and took another deep breath. He felt sick. 'I don't think I want to be with you anymore.' There, he said it.

'What?' Rory chuckled.

_Dammit, I have to say it again._

'I don't-I don't want to be with you anymore.'

'Er…why?' Rory was still smiling. She obviously thought this was some kind of joke. Logan immediately regretted all the pranks he'd played on her in the past. _It's just like The Boy Who Cried Wolf, _he thought, looking up at the ceiling as if asking for guidance.

'I don't love you.' He said quietly, still not looking at her. He could tell that she was no longer smiling, however. The mood in the room instantly changed.

'Logan…if this is one of your stupid pranks, then you should just stop it right now because it's really-'

'It's not a prank' Logan interrupted her, finally meeting her eyes with his. Another thing he instantly regretted. He really didn't want to see her expression when she was finally convinced that he was breaking up with her.

'You don't love me anymore? What did I do to make you stop?' Rory asked tentatively. Confused didn't even begin to explain what she was feeling right now.

Logan clenched his jaw and tried to steady himself. He hated what he was about to say.

'I never loved you. You were…just a fun girlfriend. You didn't mean much more than that.' Logan voice had fallen to a whisper.

Rory slowly sat down on her bed, her mouth hanging open and her eyes tearing up. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know how she felt- she was numb.

Eventually, coherent thoughts began to form in her mind.

'You've basically been lying to me all this time? So that's why you wanted to make out with me and have sex with me today? To give your trouser-snake some pleasure for one last time?!' she raised her voice. '_That's_ why you made me slave away all day on that stupid article- you wanted to break up with me today so you made sure the article got done beforehand?!'

Logan could do nothing but stare at the floor.

'Logan!' Rory screamed. She needed some answers.

'I didn't come here to explain myself. I came here to end things between us.' Logan said quickly and quietly.

_God, I'm so good at being an ass_. _I should change my profession. _Logan thought sarcastically to himself.

'Well then, you've done what you came here to do.' Rory said, crossing her arms and shooting daggers at him with her eyes. 'Now get the hell out.'

With that, Logan silently turned on his heel and left her apartment.

A/N. I know, it's pretty harsh, but I hope you understand why Logan did what he did…there'll be more explanations and stuff in the next couple of chapters. I'll be away on holiday for a week, so the next update won't appear until I get back.

In case you forgot while reading the drama of the chapter- please review!!


	4. Theories and Explanations

Theories and Explanations

A/N: I know I said I'll only be a week after my last update, and I know it's been about 3 weeks lol, but after my holiday I had jet-leg and all that, plus preparations for university! I hope you enjoy :D

'Oh for heaven's sake, Michel!' Lorelai cried, exasperated at her colleague. 'German guests are still welcome guests, no matter what they say about your language.'

The sound of annoyed retreating footsteps was interrupted by the ringing of Lorelai's phone.

Lorelai looked at the caller ID and smiled. No doubt Rory had just found out some 'interesting' fact about Christmases in England (yesterday it was the Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square) and wanted to share it with her mother immediately.

'Hey, babycakes. What's the haps?'

'Mommy!' Rory exclaimed and then broke down into a fit of sobs.

'Rory? What's wrong, hun?' Lorelai immediately switched into motherly mode.

'Logan broke up with me' Rory managed to get out in between her sharp gasps and sobs. 'He said all these things, really horrible things, about how he-he never loved me. He doesn't want to be with me anymore.'

'Oh, Rory' Lorelai soothed, 'I'm so sorry.' She paused. 'Did he not give you a reason or any explanation?'

'No' Rory said angrily, 'he just said he didn't want to see me anymore. He barely even _looked_ at me.' Rory whispered, the heartbreak she felt was clear in her voice. Lorelai remained silent, knowing that Rory just needed someone to listen to her, needed to feel someone else's' presence, even if just on the phone, while she sorted out her tangled emotions and thoughts.

'I bet it was that bitch Francesca who lured him away from me,' Rory finally said. Apparently, she had now moved on from shock and sadness, and was paying a visit to the bitter phase of the break-up. 'He took coffee from her this morning. Stupid man-whore.'

'Honey, just because a guy accepts coffee from a girl it doesn't make him a man-whore.' Lorelai tried to reason.

'He's always been nice to her, even when she was blatantly flirting with him right in front of my eyes.' Rory said, beginning to cry again.

'Well of course he would be nice to her. She's assistant-editor, and you know how much Logan cares about the workplace being a friendly environment.'

'Why are you defending him??'

_Uh-oh, the ugly phase appears to be rearing its fittingly ugly head. _

'I'm not defending him, sweetie. What he's done to you is really awful, especially as he didn't even have the decency to give you a proper reason as to why he was leaving you so suddenly. But, getting paranoid over little things and over-analysing everything that he's done in the past 6 months isn't gonna make you feel better.' Rory just sniffled quietly. Lorelai could feel her heart breaking for her daughter. 'I know you really loved him, honey.'

'Yeah, well he obviously didn't feel the same way.' Rory said, her tone still bitter.

'Did he tell you he loved you often?' Lorelai asked, mentally thinking up methods of castration that maximise the pain.

'Not _often_. At first I just thought it was because he wasn't a soppy kind of guy, like he'd only say it when it really changed my mood, like if I was really upset or if he went away on a business trip and I really missed him…but now I know he was only saying it because he probably wanted me to get off his back, and he knew an 'I love you' was a failsafe way of doing that.'

Lorelai remained silent again. She didn't know what to say that would make her daughter feel better- without lying through her teeth, that is. She had been so happy for Rory and Logan. Everytime she saw them together, she felt a little swelling of pride in her heart- as if she was proud of her daughter for finding a man who was her best friend, and her true love. She'd actually thought that Logan was a pretty genuine guy, despite his life-long training as a businessman and the rumours of his wild college days that had been floating around high society. For someone who was usually a pretty good judge of character, Lorelai could safely say that she was shocked at Logan's sudden admission. Within the space of a few minutes, Logan had managed to go from 'potential future son-in-law' to 'the guy whose testicles will soon be crying out for mercy'.

As much as she wanted to travel to New York and be with Rory to comfort her, the inn was getting more and more packed with guests by the day, and with Sookie's mini panic attacks and Michel's petulance, Lorelai was really the only person who could ensure that the guestbook wasn't going to be filled with profanity. She could only hope that her daughter would be able to cope without her until they left for England in 2 weeks.

'Mom?' Rory's little voice said. Lorelai was shaken out of her thoughts.

'Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm still here, sweetie.'

'Do you think we could leave for England a little early?' Rory asked, in a tone very similar to a 6 year old girl asking her Daddy for a trip to Disneyland. Lorelai's heart fell. How was she supposed to say no?

'Erm…you know, honey, I think it'd probably be better f or you to stay in New York for a little while. It'll be a healthier way to get over Logan…rather than running away to another country.' Lorelai improvised, although there was actually some truth in what she was saying.

'I don't wanna stay here!' Rory exclaimed. 'I can't go back to work and see him everyday!' lorelai could tell the waterworks were about to commence again.

'Well…maybe you don't have to go back to the Adelphi.'

'What, so you just want me to sit around at home all day, moping and listening to Shaun's crazy ideas about Eskimos with magical powers?'

'Eskimos with magical powers? That's so funky!' Lorelai said, clearly not realising how out-of-place that comment was. 'Sorry' she corrected herself after being met with a heavy silence on the other end of the phone. 'You don't have to stay at home either.'

'So I'm not going back to the Adelphi, I'm not going to England with you and I'm not staying at home- just where the hell am I going to be?!' Rory's voice was distinctly annoyed- Lorelai thought she better cut to the chase.

'Well..erm...didn't you get a…some kind of…job…offer?' she asked, trying to feign ignorance. She heard Rory swear softly under her breath. That wasn't a good sign.

'So now _you're_ trying to make me take this bloody job? You're trying to make me take the job that my boyf… _ex_-boyfriend wanted me to take?'

'I'm not advising you to take the job for no reason! It'll be perfect for you, I know it will, and this whole Logan thing is yet another reason to take the job- you get to be away from him, start fresh.' Lorelai explained. She waited for her daughter's response.

'That's it.' Rory whispered.

'What's what?'

'That's why he kept pushing me to take the job. He wanted me to be away from him. He probably thought it'd be easier to break up with me if we didn't see each other as much. He probably thought that he could use the whole 'it's too hard being away from you' excuse and the 'I hardly see you anymore, you're putting your work before me' excuse to break up with me. So when I refused to take the job, he just flat-out broke up with me because he knew I wouldn't give him the opportunity to make him seem less of the bad guy.'

Lorelai grimaced slightly. That did make sense. The castration methods began to pass through her mind at a quicker rate.

'Well then, taking this job will mean that you can give him a huge 'up yours!' when you do the job 10 times better than he could have imagined.'

'I suppose so' Rory conceded quietly, obviously still upset.

'Look, you don't have to take the job nor do anything else just because I think you should. Sleep on it tonight and when you get up tomorrow, you'll feel refreshed, your mind will be clearer and you'll have a much better perspective on things. I've gotta go now, hun' Lorelai sighed as she heard more German shouting from upstairs. 'but call me tomorrow morning and let me know what you decide, all right? Talk to Shaun and Lo as well if you need to.'

'Ok, thanks. Bye mom.' Rory hung up before she started crying again.

Lorelai put her phone down and sighed before making her way up the stairs. Rory's theory did make a lot of sense, but something still didn't seem right. If Logan had really wanted to break up with her, surely he could have found some other way of showing it? He could have acted more distant with her, but he didn't. He could have cheated on her while Rory went off to England if he really wanted to, but he didn't wait for that. Lorelai knew that anybody could say that they love someone, it's the easiest thing in the world to say the words 'I love you', but she also knew how difficult it is to _show_ that you love someone. And from her point of view, Logan had definitely shown it. That's why she'd been such a big supporter of their relationship. So what made him suddenly change his mind? Why did he suddenly want to break up with his girlfriend? Lorelai stopped mid-way up the staircase.

_Oh! _

'So why didn't you just tell her that all those things she accused you of weren't true?' Colin asked. Logan had gone straight from Rory's to Finn's apartment, calling Colin on the way. It was in the best interests of New York pedestrians to ask Colin to drive to Finn's, rather than vice versa.

'What was I supposed to do? Explain to her that the sex and the article were just diversions so that she wouldn't be able to post that form?!' Logan exclaimed.

Colin looked shocked as realisation dawned upon him.

'Wow, that's not cool, man. I get that you want her to take the job, but don't you think this is going a little too far? Was there really no other way to convince her to do it?'

'Well I already tried stealing the form away from her!' Logan explained, only to be met with an incredulous and unconvinced faces from his friends.

'Oh, I'm sorry. You clearly exhausted every sensible option' Colin replied sarcastically. Logan vigorously rubbed his forehead with his hands before taking a deep breath.

'I think- I _know-_ that this job has the potential to change her life for the better. I know it seemed a pretty rash thing to do, to just break up with her and tell her all that stuff out-of-the-blue, but this is her career we're talking about. It's everything she's dreamed of since she was a little girl. I've heard her talk so passionately about journalism- you all have.' Logan added, to which Colin and Finn both nodded. 'It was one of the things that attracted me to her in the first place- how driven and ambitious she was. And the thing is, her ambitions were totally within her reach- she's _amazing_ at journalism. And now she's being rewarded for her talent, in a huge way, but she doesn't wanna take it just because she's not sure if she can handle it, and coz she's afraid of growing distant with her friends…and me. So, it seemed to me that removing myself from the equation was what would push her to take the job. So I did it, because I'd hate myself so much if, in a couple of years, she was still stuck at the Adelphi and regretting her decision to decline the Manhattan.' Logan paused to look at his friends. They now seemed to have expressions of understanding on their faces. He continued, 'So, if everything goes according to the plan, she'll take the job and once she's settled in, I'll get in touch with her again and hopefully she'll understand why I did what I did, and we can just go on from there.' The looks of understanding vanished instantly.

Finn's eyes grew wide. 'You want her to take you back?! Seriously, mate?'

'What?' Logan asked, confused. 'Of course I want her to take me back, I just broke up with her so that she'd take the job, but I don't want to be apart from her permanently! I do actually love her, you know.' He clarified. Finn and Colin merely continued to stare at him, incredulous.

Logan realised what they were thinking and his face fell. 'You don't think she'll take me back?' he asked feebly.

'I don't know, mate.' Finn answered truthfully. 'What you did to her, the things you said, it would've hurt her pretty badly.'

'What are you even gonna say to her?' Colin asked ''Hey Rory, remember all those horrible things I said to you the other night? Well it was all just part of an elaborate plan to force you to take that job that you never wanted to take in the first place. So now that that's sorted, wanna hook up again?'' he suggested, prompting both Finn and himself to descend into giggles. Logan sent them deathly glares.

'You think this is funny?!' he shouted. The giggles ceased immediately.

'Sorry, man' Colin said sheepishly, 'but think about it. If you tell her that you do actually love her, and what you said tonight was a lie, she's not gonna know what to think. She'll think you're some kind of compulsive liar or something.'

'It's messing with her emotions, mate. It's not very fair to her.' Finn added.

Logan sighed deeply and stared at the floor. 'I guess I probably should have run this plan by someone before executing it, right?' he said light-heartedly.

'Yeah, that would have been a better idea.' Colin said with a slight smile.

A/N- review review review!!!


End file.
